Nicholas (diplomat)

Nicholas was an English diplomat and spy in the service of Queen Elizabeth I of England who was appointed her ambassador to France in 1560. He failed in his attempt to dissuade King Antoine of Navarre from signing away the House of Bourbon's claim to the French throne, and he was also provided false information by Mary, Queen of Scots in order to deceive Queen Elizabeth about the Scottish situation. He later convinced Mary to sign an accord forfeiting her claim on the English throne, but she burned the accord following the death of her husband Francis II of France in December 1560, blaming the bandit attack which mortally wounded him on Elizabeth's machinations. Not long after, Elizabeth replaced Nicholas with Gideon Blackburn.